Four ex-University of Iowa athletes have confessed to partaking in illegal underage gambling. To bypass restrictions and place bets on sporting events, these students manipulated identifying information to establish betting accounts.
The implicated athletes include footballers Arland Bruce IV, Reggie Bracy and Jack Johnson, alongside basketball player Ahron Ulis. The closing of their guilty plea agreements comes after similar confessions from Hunter Dekkers and other players.
To shroud their identities and side-step the qualification age for lawful gambling, Bruce, Bracy, Johnson and Ulis admitted to opening FanDuel and DraftKings accounts under the personal details of their family members. Through this, the collegiate-affiliated players managed to maintain anonymity.
With these covertly obtained accounts, the players consistently bet on both football and basketball games, some of which they were active participants in.
In light of their confession, the quartet was handed fines amounting to $645 apiece. Interestingly, this is exactly the same financial toll imposed on Dekkers and his cohorts for their prior misconduct relating to underage gambling.
The additional implications include possible NCAA sanctions on Bruce, Bracy, Johnson and Ulis, typically issued in the form of brief suspensions.
Following these events, Bruce, Bracy and Ulis sought and secured transfers to other schools. Currently, Ulis is listed on the roster of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, evidently managing to steer clear of significant trouble with the NCAA. Nevertheless, it’s a pertinent reminder to budding athletes that serious misdemeanors could result in a complete ban on their competitive involvement.
Guilty Pleas in Underage Gambling Spread Beyond the Initial Four
As previously stated, a number of the other students implicated in the underage gambling scandal associated with the Iowa schools pled guilty earlier this month. This cohort included Cyclones’ quarterback Hunter Dekkers, offensive lineman Jacob Remsburg, Iowa’s kicker Aaron Blom, ISU’s football player Dodge Sauser and Gehrig Christensen from the Iowa baseball team.
At the onset of the case, legal authorities argued that the young men were potentially liable for record tampering—an allegation that carries significant penalties. Had they not confessed to underage gambling, this serious charge could have potentially seen them serve up to two years of jail time.
However, this contentious point also sparked disagreement within legal circles. Several lawyers criticized the tampering allegations as absurd, labeling it as a gratuitous attempt to soil the reputation of the young men. Citing the case of Aaron Blom, his attorney Franz Becker contended that it’s not unexpected for young athletes to harbor an interest in sports betting, hence the state should not act shocked.
